THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN _________________________________________________________________________________ September 8, 1916. 463 deep and main cobbles and large nuts to meet special requirements, and practically the whole of the output is reserved for that purpose. There is no abatement in the demand for manufacturing fuel, which is far in excess of the supply, and heavy calls have to be made every day on Household coal to make up the deficiency. There are no stocks of any kind at the collieries, and fulTtime;continues tyo ihe worked. __________________ South Staffordshire, North Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Birmingham. COAL. The attendance at the weekly market on Thursday was small, and business of necessity was restricted. The collieries have nothing to sell, and merchants reported that they cannot pick up a stray truck of good class coal any- where. Supplies are no better, and nothing is going into stock. The only comfort is that the coal now being sold to the public is not being consumed, but is being stored ‘against the winter, so that under normal conditions things '■are not likely to get much worse within the next few months. Slacks are offered more freely, but with the ■advent of long nights requiring more lighting this state of things will not last long. There has been no price move- ment during the week. Prices at pit. Current L’st week’s Last year’ Staffordshire (including prices. • prices. prices. Cannock Chase) :— House coal, best deep ... 22/ 22/ 23/ Do. seconds deep 20/ 20/ 21/ Do. best shallow 19/ 19/ 20/ Do. seconds do. 18/ 18/ 19/ Best hard 18/6 18/6 19/6 Forge coal 16/ 16/ 16/ Slack 11/6 11/6 11/6 Warwickshire:— House coal, best Ryder.. 19/ 19/ 21/ Do. hand-picked cobs 18/ 18/ 20/ Best hard spires 20/ 20/ 19/6 Forge (steam) 1 16/ 16/ 16/ D.S. nuts (steam) 14/6 14/6 16/ Small (do.) j 14/6 14/6 15/ IRON. A more cheerful tone pervaded the market, due in large measure to the removal of the deadlock which had existed for nearly a fortnight with regard to maximum prices for Derbyshire pig iron. It may be as well, in consequence of the confusion which has existed, to restate the prices :— Northamptonshire : No. 4 forge, 87s. 6d. ; No. 4 foundry, •89s.; No. 3 foundry, 90s. ; No. 2 foundry, 92s. ; No. 1 foundry, 94s. Derbyshire : No. 4 forge, 90s.; No. 3 foundry, 92s. 6d.; No. 2 foundry, 94s. 6d.; No. 1 foundry, 96s. 6d., all net, f.o.t. at makers’ works. Staffordshire iron has been unaffected by the hitch. The price for part-mine forge is 95s., for part-mine foundry 97s. 6d., and for common 90s. In other branches the position was strong. Manufacturers have offers which will run during the year. Merchants are willing to place orders for general trade, but little material is avail- able for this purpose. Bar makers are compelled to refuse orders, so far ahead is their output booked, and makers of puddled bars have also nothing to offer meantime. Galvanised sheets are also on restricted offer, more mills having recently closed down on account of inability to get material. Quotations remain at <£28 10s. to .£29, and for black sheets <£18 10s. Steel bars are being turned out in large quantities for the Admiralty, and for such supplies as are available outside, the price is <£16 a ton, while on the open market steel hoops command <£18 10s. In the semis department billets and sheet bars are scarce as ever, and consumers are glad to accept discards. American supplies are not large, and they are dear, billets being as much as <£13 10s. to <£14, Liverpool. Gas strip makers are active, and continue to quote <£14 15s. to <£15. Lydney. _______ _______ Forest of Dean. COAL. For steam and manufacturing fuel a very heavy demand prevails. The pits are unable to get any reserve supplies on the banks, and delay in executing orders is inevitable. In house qualities merchants have as much as they can do to keep pace with the public demand for the replenish- ment of cellars ; there are heavy arrear orders still on the books, and the position is likely to be a very difficult one when the colder weather sets in and the trade has the demand for actual consumption to face. Prices at pithead._______________ Current- L’st week’s Last year’s House coals:— prices. prices. prices. Block 21/6 21/6 21/6 Forest 20/6 20/6 20/6 Rubble 20/9 20/9 19/ ; 20/9 Nuts 19/ 19/ Rough slack Steam coal — 13/ 13/ 13/ Large 18/ -19/ : 18/ -19/ — Small ... '16/ : 16/ — Prices 2s. extra f.o.b. Lydney or Sharpness. ______________________________ The production of tin and terne plates for the 12 months ending June 1916 in the United States amounts to 1,055,936 tons, which total has broken all records. Furthermore, the price of American tinplates for export is about 26s., as com- pared with about 34s. now quoted at Swansea. Afforestation of Pit Banks.—In the Botany Section of the British Association, Mr. P. A. Martineau supplied a paper on the afforestation of pit banks, which was a review of work in the Black Country. Although no actual income had been derived, considerable quantities of wood were approaching the market stage. He had been most successful with black adders, birches. and sycamores. Replying to questions, Mr. Martineau said he had used the casual labour of the district, and the cost, including supplies, would not exceed £7 an acre. THE WELSH COAL AND IRON TRADES. Thursday, September 7. __________________________________________________ Monmouthshire, South Wales, 4c. Newport. COAL. Very firm conditions are now being experienced in the steam coal market, where buyers have great difficulty in securing coal of any kind for immediate shipment. Of all grades, eastern valleys are rather less scarce than other varieties, but even for these, up to 45s. has been asked for small lots available while for the Black Veins and other western valleys, so great is the pressure that they are practically unobtainable at the moment. Tonnage supplies are quite sufficient to maintain exports at a high level, and with rather more tonnage offering on the freight market, there has been more activity in that direction. P orward business rules dull. Exporters, with a keen memory of the sharp drop in values last October and November seem very disinclined to commit themselves very deeply, the position of colliery stems for the latter portion of the month being considerably easier than at present. Colliery salesmen make no effort to induce business by offering concessions, and maintain their quotations unflinchingly. Fair supplies of pitwood have come in which are rapidly pushed along to the collieries, values showing little fluctuation at 45s. to 46s. for good wood. Prices f.o.b. cash 30 days. Current L’st week’s Last year’s Steam coals:— prices. 1 Dr ices. prices. Best Black Vein large... 44/ -46/ i 41 6-42/6 24/ -24/6 Western-valleys, ordin’y 44/ -45/ 1 41/ -42/ 23/ -23/6 Best Eastern-valleys ... 43/ -45/ i 40/ -41/ 21 6 22/6 Secondary do. 40/ -42/ : 38/ -39/ 20/6-21/ Best small coals 28/ -29/ ! 28/ -28/6 17/6-18/ Secondary do 26/ -28/ ' 26/ -z7/ 16'6-17/ Inferior do 21/ -22/ i 20/ -22/ 12/ -14/ Screenings 28/ -29,6 i 28/ —28/6 17/9-18/ Through coals 27/ -29/ 1 26/ —28/ 17/ -18/ Best washed nuts 30/ -31/ ■ 30/ -31/ 18/ -18/6 Other sorts:— i Best house coal 24/ -26/6 i 24' -26/6 21/ -22/ Secondary do 22/ -24/ i 22/ -24/ 20/ -21/ Patent fuel 45/ -47/6 ' 45/ -47/6 32/ -35/ Furnace coke 50/ -52/6 : 501 -55/ , 30/ -32/ Foundry coke 60/ -62/6 ' 60/ -65/ i35/ -38/ IRON. The conditions of the local iron and steel trades continue very firm, works being in all cases well placed with orders for some time ahead, in most cases Government contracts having the monopoly. Work at bar mills continues at full pressure, official quotations being unaltered on the basis of <£1-1 for both Bessemer and Siemens qualities. Steel rails continue very firm at around <£14 10s. for heavy sections. Good enquiries continue to come to hand at blast furnaces, where production by no means equals requirements. Prices nominally rule upon <£7 2s. 6d. for Welsh haematite. In the tin-plate trade a good enquiry is coming to hand for prompt and forward delivery, but makers are not showing any anxiety to further commit themselves. Prices have slightly hardened on the week, and are now quoted at 37s. to 37s. 6d. for IC 20 x 14, and 76s. to 76s. 6d. for 28 x 20, either Bessemer or Siemens. Cardiff. COAL. For some days past market conditions have been very difficult. Government requirements have been heavy, and not only have best Admiralties been entirely absorbed, but other qualities, including best Monmouthshires, have been largely drawn upon in order to satisfy the demands of France and Italy. Outputs are not yet up to what they were before August, owing to the fact that in many instances miners have been unwilling to forego their usual summer holiday, and there is a degree of absenteeism in most districts, amounting in most cases to anything between 10 and 15 per cent, of the men employed. The result is a shortage of production for general purposes which is making itself felt, and it is rarely that anything beyond oddments come on to the market outside the contractual quantities which are in every instance taken up by the fortunate individuals who have made their arrangements some time ago. The limitation of prices scheme for Italy is also exercising considerable influence on the market. Both coal owners and coal exporters have agreed to provide coal and undertake the chartering business on the same terms as under the French scheme, but there is a point of difference between the coal trade and the ship owners. The former claim that they made concessions in excess of those granted by the ship owners, and the minimum freights agreed to by the ship owners are considered too high. The scheduled rates are on the basis of 62s. 6d. for Marseilles and 65s. for Genoa, but as a matter of fact current freights are several shillings below these figures. The decline may be only temporary, but there is a feeling amongst coal owners and exporters that the ship owners are not making the same measure of sacrifice as the coal producers, and that further action is necessary to bring them into line. They point out that whereas the present market price of steam coal is anything in the neighbour- hood of 45s., they are accepting 30s. per ton for Italian shipment, whilst the ship owners are receiving actually more than the current rates obtainable in the open market. On the other band the ship owners maintain that owing to the very large number of their steamers which are engaged on Government service at comparatively low rates, and they have been precluded from making the profits secured by other owners, they are entitled to some consideration so as to preserve some soil of balance between the various rates now being paid. Further consultations are to take place with the Board of Trade on the subject, and it is probable that a new schedule will be agreed upon, which will come into operation at an early date. In the meantime, n-w business is practically at a standstill, and colliery sal smen are holding out for higher prices. Charterings, last week, amounted to 86,450 tons, against 83,700 ta ns in the preceding six days, or an increase of 2,750 tons. These figures, however, are altogether outside Government requirements, and do not in any way indicate the volume of trade passing at the port. Shipments from the Channel, iRst week, were 229,643 tons, against 348,022 tons in the corresponding week of last year, or a decrease of 118,379 tons. From Cardiff, the exports were 82,394 tons, against 176,079 tons, or a fall of 93,675 tons. The heaviest ship- ments were made to Genoa; 7,865 tons ; Cadiz, 5,666 tons ; Rouen, 7,100 tons ; St. Vincent, 6,350 tons ; and Chantenay, 4,970 tons. This is a pretty fair indication that the bulk of the Cardiff shipments are on Admiralty service. From Newport, the exports were 56,944 tons, against 67,116 tons, or a decrease of 14,172 tons, the heaviest shipments being 9,489 tons to Gibraltar and 9,220 tons to Rouen. From Swansea, there were despatched 67,214 tons, or a decrease bf 4,217 tons, of which no less than 24,523 tons went to Rouen, and 8,050 tons to Savona. Port Talbot was credited with 27,091 tons, or a decrease of 6,315 tons, and of this quantity 8,065 tons went to Marseilles and 6,465 tons to Rouen. Of the total vessels which carried these cargoes 154 were foreign and only 36 British, or 18*95 per cent. Only seven British ships sailed for Cardiff and Newport against 69 foreigners. Patent fuel exports amounted to 3,288 tons from Cardiff, or an increase of 1,658 tons, from Newp rt 2,100 tons, from Swansea 14,543 tons, or an increase of 3,168 tons, and from Port Talbot 4,327 tons, or an increase of 1,661 tons. Tonnage is plentiful, and it is stated that the majority of the collieries are well stemmed until the latter end of the month. The only question is whether rhe Government will grant, licences to relieve the situation, and so save demurrage. The Custom House returns for the month of July show that the coastwise shipments from the Bristol Channel amounted to 66,915 tons against 100,890 tons in the corresponding month of last year. Cardiff despatched 33,64- tons, Aewpoit 36,176 tons, Briton Ferry 5,405 tons, and Swansea 9,631 tons. With regard to prices, tlrnre has been an upward tendency throughout the week. The demand, as indicated above, is greater than the supply, and colliery owners are demanding higher figures, although in most cases they have practically nothing to offer. Best Admiralties are altogether off the market, and the same remark applies to superior seconds. Ordinary seconds are44s. to 45s. per ton, and ordinary steams 42s. to 41s. Dry coals are dearer at 39s. to 45s. per ton. Monmouthshires are scarce, and prices have advanced, best Black Veins being 44s. to 45s., Western Valleys 42s. to 44s., and best Easterns 41s. to 43s. per ton. The small coal market is extremely firm, and supplies are scarce, Best bunkers command 30s. 6d. to 31s. 6d., ordinary 29s. to 30s., and cargo qualities 24s. to 25s., with other grades down to 20s. In bituminous coals, there has been, a harder tendency, No. 3 Rhondda large being 42s. to 45s., through 34s. to 35s., small 30s. to 32s. 6d., No. 2 large 36s. to 37s. 6d., through 29s. to 31s., and small 24s. to 25s. House coals are unaltered. Patent fuel is practically off the market, but quotations remain nominally at 45s. to 47s. 6d. Coke is dear and unchanged. The average declared selling prices during the month of July as published by the Board of Trade returns are as follow :— Cardiff. Newport, Swansea. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Large steam ........ 28 5 ... 28 3 ... 30 8 ... 28 10 Through-and-through 25 7 ... 27 5 ... 21 5 ... 20 2 Small steam .............. 19 11 ... 21 1 ... 16 2 ... 20 2 Large anthracite____ 35 0 ... — ... 27 0 ... 28 3 Household.......... 29 1 ... 22 3 ... 31 0 ... — Supplies of pitwood have been fairly plentiful, but the demand has been slow, and current prices are not more than 44s. to 45s. per ton. Prices f.o.b. Cardiff (except where otherwise stated). Steam coals:— Current prices. L’st week’s Last year’: prices. prices. Best Admiralty steam coals * * . * Superior seconds * 24/ -25/ Seconds 44/ -45./ 41/ -42/6 — Ordinary do 42/ -11/ 40. -41' 22/ -23/ Best bunker smalls 30 6-31/6 30/ -31/ 18/ -19/ Best ordinaries 29/ -30/ 28/6-29 6 16/6-17/6 Cargo qualities 24/ -25/ 24/ -25 10 6-12/ Inferior smalls 20 -23/ 23/ -24 10/ -10/6 Best dry coals 40/ -12 / 38-' -40. 24 -25/ Ordinary drys 37/6-40 36 -37 6 22/ -23/ Best washed nuts 36 -38' 35; -36/ 23/ -21/ Seconds 34 -36; 32 6-34/ 22 '6-23/ Best washed peas 33/ -35/ 32/6-33' 21, -22 Seconds 31/ -33/ 30/ -32- 19/ -20/ Dock screenings -— 12 -13/ Monmouth s h i re— Black Veins 44' -45 11' - 42 6 21 -24 6 Western-valleys 42' -44 40' -42 23/ Eastern-valleys 41/ -43 39/ -40' 20/ -21/ Inferior do 39/ -41/ 37/ -39/ 19/6-20- Bituminous coals:— Best house coals (at pit) 25 6 -26 6 25 6-26 6 23/ Second qualities (at pit) 23 6-24/6 23/6-24/6 22 No. 3 Rhondda— Bituminous large 42/ -45 37 6-40 Through-and-through 34/ -35 31 / —o •); 23 -21' Small .... 30/ -32 b 30' -32 6 22 -23; No. 2 Rhondda— Large 36' -37 6 33' -37 6 20' Th rough-and-through 29 -31' 29 -31/ 18 Small 24 -25/ 24' -25' 16/ Best patent fuel 45 -47 6 45 - 4/ 6 33 -34/ Seconds 43 45 42 6-45/ 31/ -32 Special foundry coke 62/6 -67 L 62 6-65 42 -45/ Ordinary do. 60' -62 6 58 6 626 36 -40' Furnace coke 52 6-57 6 50 -50 6 31, -33 Pitwood (ex-ship) 41 —15/ 45 6 -16 32 -33 ♦ Nominal. IRON. There is little change in the position of the tin-plate trade, except that prices are rather firmer. Production continues on a low basis, the receipts of works last week only amounting to 45,419 boxes, against 50.862 b< xes shipped. Stocks remaining in the docks warehouses and vans amount to only 101.852 boxes, the whole of which would be swamped in a week's shipments in normal times. Bessemer standard cokes are 36s. Cal. to 37s. 6d., and oil sizes 36s. (id. to 37s. 6d. and 52s. to 53s respectively. There is little new business on the market, the Government restrictions having checked enquiries, and it is feaied that the American makers will capture a great deal of the trade